It was not my first flight nor my first e-ticket purchase but United Airlines had me feeling like I was in that twilight zone of rookie travelers with no clue. I have heard the horror stories that UAL is the worst, and generally I avoid it, but this time there was no choice. And hey, how bad could they be?
Really bad. For starters, I was invited to an out-of-state event and my host purchased the tickets in my proper and legal name, paid for them, and sent me the e-ticket numbers. I should have been good to go. But when I logged in to select my seats and print the itinerary the system did not recognize my name or the tickets.
I tried numerous ways and codes from what I had been sent, actually directly from United, but nothing worked. OK, I live six miles from the Boise Airport, so I drove up there for some help at the United desk. That began the most circular conversation of my life.
The manager on site said they could not assign seats or print an itinerary because I didn’t have a “reservation” on those flights. A “reservation?” What the hey? It went like this:
Here are my e-ticket numbers, isn’t that my reservation?
“No, that merely shows you have purchased the tickets.”
So the tickets are purchased and paid for?
“Yes.”
On these flights and in my name?
“Yes.”
Then what is the problem?
“You don’t have a reservation.”
How do I get a reservation?
“I can do that right now.”
OK, now we’re getting somewhere. Would you please make my reservation?
“I can but not at those prices.”
What!
“Those are advance purchase prices, we are now within seven days.”
But the tickets are already bought, purchased, and paid for, in full.
“Yes, but that was the price then, if I make a reservation now I have to charge today’s price.”
How can there be a “today’s price” when I already have the tickets, have e-ticket numbers, and have paid in full for the tickets?
“Because you do not have a reservation….”
And so it went until they asked me to leave so they could check in other travelers, evidently legitimate ones. I went home, called my host in Tulsa, and explained the situation. Within hours I was able to log in online, select seats and print my itinerary. I don’t know what happened on the other end but I understand it involved blue smoke.
Three days later it was show time. I went to the airport and tried the touch screen check-in, like I have done literally hundreds of times on other carriers. No go. The agent had to do it, and of course charging me $15 a bag for checking, and handing me the “Boarding Passes.”
Or not. I got to security and when asked for my Boarding Pass I noticed I had been given “Departure Management Cards,” and the fun was just beginning all over.
I am truly not a rookie, with as many as 50 flights a year just a few years back, all around the U.S. and to Asia and Europe, and never had a start-to-finish experience like this one with United. And as you might imagine I have shortened the story dramatically.
Amazingly the flights were fine. We were on time and even early with two legs of the trip, and the crews were great. It appears the airline knows how to fly, but running a business and serving customers – they have no clue. At one point after another of customer contact they duplicated and triplicated effort. I don’t know how a business can make a profit doing that … but stand-by for the taxpayer bailout that is surely in the wings.
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